Friday, Part 4

The Dom at night is a spectacular sight. The lighting is perfect and it is so majestic. Too bad the Catholic Church owns it...

After finding no one else at registration I knew, I headed across the river to wander. As I have learned from Jeff, I viewed the city as a grid and started walking, top left to bottom right, or some such. Atlstadt (Old Town) is very beautiful, full of restaturants and biergartens. The platz in front of the Dom is also quite popular. Wander, wander, wander, wander. Ok, how can I feel so alone in a city with 10,000 gay people visiting? Finding my hotel was a bargain, but it would be nice to talk to someone, see a familiar face. After 4 hours it's enough and I decide to head back to the hotel. My arthritis is throbbing in my toes, and I'm sure my visage reflects that. I'm trying hard to not let my mind wander to things I should be doing, things I could be doing, directions home, etc., and being in the moment. I'm constantly reminding myself to lift my eyes up from the sidewalk, although the cobblestone is beautiful.

'Steve?'

I look up. It's Brad! Yay! (For those who don't know, Brad is a very good friend, and the other Boston player on my team.) He introduces me to Jurgen, one of his hosts. The remainder of the evening is spent at Jurgen and Gunter's flat (can you come up with 2 more Germanic names?), sharing an ayurvedic meal with them, their friends Mattias and Christian, and another Gay Games athlete they are hosting, Andre, from Slovenia.

It's been a long and delightful day, and when my head hits the pillow about 1 a.m. it doesn't take long to fall asleep with a smile on my face.